What We Know About Lupita Nyong'o And Selema Masekela's Split

For years, Lupita Nyong'o was notorious for keeping her personal and dating life under very tight wraps, but that all changed when she met Selema Masekela. The "12 Years a Slave" star confirmed her relationship with the sports commentator via Instagram in December 2022, per People, posting a clip of the pair trying on different outfits to the beat of Iniko and Reuel Williams' "The King's Affirmation." Little was known about their relationship, except for the fact that Masekela seemed to harbor a longtime crush on Nyong'o based on a series of tweets he shared back in 2016. "Hypothetically speaking of course...let's say you're seated behind Lupita Nyong'o on an airplane, what would be your opening line?" Masekela wrote (via Elle). "Anyone comes up with a good opener for me... send em. Cause I'm really sittin' right behind her on this flight. #stumped."

As for Nyong'o, the Kenyan-born actor made no secret of her love for her new beau either, often sharing photos and tributes to the South African host throughout their relationship. When celebrating Masekela's birthday in August 2023, Nyong'O thanked the universe for bringing "this Sunshine Human" into her world. "Every day is full of #goodenergy and reasons to dance with @selema as my favorite playmate," she added, per People. "Happy Birthday, mi amor!" Unfortunately, by October 2023, the pair had broken up; in a lengthy statement on social media, Nyong'o confirmed that she and Masekela had split after just less than a year together.

Lupita Nyong'o began her lengthy statement in October 2023 by acknowledging there were many more pressing issues going on in the world than yet another celebrity breakup announcement. And while her heart goes out to those who are truly suffering, she had things she felt she needed to get off her chest: "At this moment, it is necessary for me to share a personal truth and publicly dissociate myself from someone I can no longer trust... I find myself in a season of heartbreak because of a love suddenly and devastatingly extinguished by deception," Nyong'o wrote. Careful to not name names and spill too much information, the "Black Panther" star said she was intent on keeping a positive outlook regarding her situation and hopes others would be inspired by her story. She also wished for her own healing, writing, "I am choosing to face the pain... and trusting that this too shall pass."

Speaking to Net-A-Porter in February 2024, Nyong'o confessed that she took her split with Selema Masekela especially hard, as she truly believed that she found her forever person in the ESPN host. She said it was for this same reason that she decided to be much more open to her fans regarding her love life — a decision that she now frankly regrets. Looking back, Nyong'o said it was the right call to keep her relationships private: "That was very, very sage of me. I'm going back to those days."

Shortly before announcing her breakup with Selema Mesekela, Lupita Nyong'o was spotted hanging out with fellow Hollywood actor Joshua Jackson at a Janelle Monáe concert in Los Angeles together with a group of mutual friends. TMZ published snaps of the pair standing next to each other amongst the crowd, although there was no hint of affection or intimacy between them (at least, at that moment). At the time of the concert, Jackson had just split from his ex-wife Jodie-Turner Smith as well; the two had been married for nearly four years before Smith filed for divorce from Jackson in October 2023. Together, they share a young daughter named Juno Rose Jackson.

Per ET, it wasn't until December 2023 that Nyong'o and Jackson confirmed being an official couple when they were spotted holding hands while taking a stroll in Joshua Tree. A source told Us Weekly that the actors had been seeing each other casually "for a very short while now" but wanted to keep things low-key. They added that the pair frequently spend time together and "enjoy doing typical things like shopping, hanging out at home, and watching movies." In March, Nyong'o and Jackson were also spotted enjoying a PDA-filled vacation in Mexico while celebrating the "Us" actress' 41st birthday. An eyewitness told E! News that the couple couldn't get their hands off each other. "They looked madly in love," the source said, "Like they just couldn't get enough of one another."